THEY battled rain, wind, tiredness and hunger but the embattled members of Ardrossan Outdoor Bowling Club managed to play for a full 24-hours without stopping.

Starting at 7pm on Friday evening, the two teams were skipped by President Paul Fisher and Secretary Ewan Sloan and the pair played every single one of the 158 ends completed with the victors being decided right at the very end of the mammoth match.

Aimed to raise funds for their 175th Anniversary, the ‘bowlathon’ as it was dubbed was a long slog but around 25 members and guests dipped in and out of the game with three others, Stuart Sloan, Ross Allan and Gordon Gray, remaining at the club for the whole stretch of time, to make sure it would be completed.

Rain had threatened throughout the game but it didn’t materialise until after breakfast was devoured but those who were there at the time used their intuition and headed straight to the carpet in the main lounge and continued until it subsided at around 2pm and the hardy bunch took to the green for the last stretch.

Finishing off just after 7pm, Ewan’s team took the spoils by 166-165 but the real winner was the club who at last count had raised over £800 for their fund for next season’s anniversary.

President Paul, who also works with the Herald, said: “I am amazed and very proud that we managed to do this. I thought it would be hard but the toll it took on your feet and legs was immense. We are used to playing games that last a couple of hours so this was a test.

“I need to congratulate Ewan and his team on their well deserved win. We were behind for a lot of the time in the game and we did well to come back. It wasn’t to be but the result wasn’t important.

“On behalf of the club, I’d like to thank every single person who took the time to help out during the 24-hours, everyone who wished us well, everyone who donated, Keith and Elaine for the soup and sandwiches and Dave for the breakfast.

“We will have more events in the lead up to the 175th season of the club starting and hope that they will all be as successful as this was.”

If you would like to donate, you can do so by visiting the club in Kilmeny Terrace or by contacting them via Facebook.